Best place to live in HK if pregnant?
- 08-31-2011, 10:48 PM #9Registered User
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Hey just to add, if ur hb works in central, it is not a long ride away fr happy valley either. There are straight buses n I believe the tram goes there too. My hb works in wanchai n he takes the tram. It is v efficient n r extremely cheap! Just 2.30 hkd or sthg! For myself, my obgyn is in central n a cab ride there is about 35-40hkd. During the weekends, we go to soho for brunch n its almost always slightly below 50hkd. Hope to help!
- 09-01-2011, 07:38 AM #10Registered User
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I also recommend sally6 takes a look at West Kowloon - only 4 minutes on the MTR to Hong Kong for your husband, a clean safe environment for children... plus Elements has a good supermarket, cinema, ice skating rink... all the developments have good clubhouses too. We lived here through pregnancy and now with our baby and we love it.
For 36k you can get a 2 bedroom place, 1000 sq ft+ in most of the developments I suspect.
- 09-01-2011, 10:12 AM #11Registered User
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I m 5 months pregnant and live in Happy Valley and I do know that lots of people find it child friendly area but I cannot imagine myself with the baby here. Narrow streets no park close by to go for a walk etc. I m considering to move to Discovery Bay I think this is great place to rais the baby. The disadventage is the ferry but it is on time so you just need to be more organise. The thing I want to say just have a look areound and decide what area is best for you and your family. The pleace that is perfect for one prson might not be so perfect for another :)! Good luck in your surch :)!
- 09-01-2011, 10:16 AM #12Registered User
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Like Cara noted above, it really depends on your personal preferences. Would agree that you should look at Happy Valley. Have friends who live there and love it and its one of the few neighborhoods on HK island that we considered (with a baby and big dog). You get a local neighborhood feel, along with parks (and a nice indoor playroom which is a big deal when its hot and rainy), coffee shops, decent supermarkets, a bookstore, restaurants and other local businesses and you're close to Central/ Causeway Bay (insanely crowded but fun for shopping/ eating/ foot massages, etc.)/ an MTR link to anywhere in HK. There is a decent amount of green, although not much grass, except for the racetrack. Victoria Park in Causeway Bay is quite closeby and a wonderful green haven in the city with parks/ grass/ trees/ ponds. A great place for spending time outdoors with a baby on HK island.
I also know people who stay at Kowloon West, but to me the environment is so sterile and lacks character (but, this is just my personal opinion). Those who like in enjoy the convenience of living in quite new apartments with clubhouse facilities, atop a huge mall and MTR station with a big (expensive, even for us) western grocery store and lots of (pretty commercial) restaurants around. There is a "park" nearby with grass, but it also has a sterile, planned feel (again, my personal opinion). But it is a good size and nice for kids to run around.
You might also want to take a look at Stanley. Your budget is on the low side for the area, but you would be able to get into a nice 2 bedroom or small 3 bedroom at Stanford Villa (relatively new development) and a number of the other buildings near the waterfront and market. The market closes very early in the evening, so no noise issues. Stanley has a lot of expat families with young kids, a much lower population density than most areas on HK island, its very green and leafy, decent restaurants, a children's park and great indoor playroom (free), plenty of formal and informal playgroups for all ages, a good library, big grocery store (and a couple smaller ones), and plenty of room for children to play at several beaches (which are all within walking distance from anywhere in Stanley. Commute time to Central ranges from 20-40 minutes, with traffic playing a big part. It usually takes me about 35 minutes door to door in a taxi to get from Stanley to IFC/ Exchange Square in Central. Getting a taxi at anytime of day isn't a problem. There are good bus and minibus links to Admiralty/ Central/ Causeway Bay/ Chai Wan/ Aberdeen. If you're the kind of person who likes to get to know some neighbors, Stanley is a nice place for that kind of thing with so many families with small kids about.
- 09-01-2011, 11:05 AM #13
Your budget is larger than ours and we live in the Island East area. For that budget, you could check out this area - North Point, North Point Hill, Taikoo Shing, Sai Wan Ho, etc... You can find something that suits your needs here for that budget.
Things I love about this area:
- MTR is pretty close, public transport is good
- Quarry Bay Park is in my opinion the best on Hong Kong Island
- being on the island, it's cheap and easy to get a taxi everywhere we need to go (we rarely cross the harbour)
- close to lots of shops/facilities - close to Causeway Bay, Citiplaza is a great mall too...
- lots of kids around, I have many mum-friends in this area
- My hubby works above Landmark, Central and his commute is about 25 minutes
- get more for your money compared to midlevels etc
I could go on - but needless to say, I think it's worth checking out this area as well :)
- 09-01-2011, 12:04 PM #14
LOL! we rarely cross the harbour the other way! as a matter of fact, hubby and i are considering renting a hotel room later this month, just so he and i can experience the city life again for a night!
- 09-01-2011, 12:18 PM #15Registered User
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As some pointed out, there are other considerations that might trump just the fact of being pregnant. However, the one thing you might consider keeping in mind the pregnancy angle is whether you intend to deliver in the private or public system.
If you're covered by insurance to go private or have the budget for it, you might consider Mathilda which seems to be the most accomodating of all kinds of birth plans or failing that, Adventist or Sanitoriam. Then, you'd be with an Ob/Gyn who delivers there, who'd most likely be in Central-ish area on HK Island. So you might prefer to live on the Island for ease of travel to appointments as well as ease of getting to the hospital (though transport in HK is very good, for my last pregnancy, I did find it a bit of a pain to trek down to Central from the New Territories for appointments). There are of course good ob/gyns all over HK (such as my current one) but I think the hospitals on the Island might cater more to the expat mindset than the Kowloon ones.
If you're going public, then I might keep in mind the public hospital I'd prefer to deliver in. My top choice would be Pamela Nethersole in Chai Wan, because there is a good possibility of getting a private room there (and they don't backcharge all the treatments so it doesn't work out too expensive, you're just paying higher room rates). So you need to live in the catchment area of that hospital (though some have managed to register without living in the area, you have a choice of where you live so you might as well). I think Happy Valley would fall into the area, and I'm sure Tin Hau eastward does. My second choice would be Queen Mary - it is the most expat friendly of the public hospitals and harder to get into if you don't live in area. You can't get a private room there, unless you pay private charges throughout which is as expensive as going private completely.
I was one of those quite scornful of the new HK developments which have MTR with mall on top and then estate on top of that with clubhouse, pool etc. Until I landed in one with a baby and realised it has big advantages. They might be something to consider since you have a small child too.
HK weather can be extremely humid and sometimes rainy. Although I prefer my son to play in the park, on these days - and there are many such days in summer - it's great that there's the option of the playroom right there. The playroom has ensured that at least he interacts with other kids and I don't have to enroll him in classes just so he learns to interact. The convenience of the pool - which we are yet to use - is another plus.
It is also extremely convenient to have the supermarket (and in our case wet market too) connected to the estate. So on rainy days, it's no hassle for my helper to take my son with her grocery shopping (I go to office). As an added bonus, we have the pediatrician also right below us in the mall.
HK on the whole is convenient but these are just added bonuses. As someone said, maybe these developments lack character. But with a young kid - and you'll soon have two - convenience might trump living in a more character-filled area. Just because your estate has these facilities, nothing stops you from getting out onto the street for walks or taking jaunts nearby and to other parts of HK with your child.
If your older kid is of school-going age, that's another big thing to keep in mind, proximity to school. I'm quite clueless on the school situation so won't go into that.
- 09-01-2011, 01:26 PM #16Registered User
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Have u considered pok Fu lam? You get slightly more space compared to happy valley or mid levels. It is also very convenient to many schools and the public hospital there is arguably the best in HK.
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